1. Today, of course, is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. This year it is also (coincidentally) the Feast of St. John the Baptist.The heart is the core and “noblest part of the human person” (as Pope Pius XII puts it), the seat of the soul and the passions and the innermost self. Thus the … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Sacred Heart and Jurassic Park
On Writing
Jurassic World: A Losing Premise
Sometimes a film or book will come along where the premise itself strikes me as simply so stupid and unbelievable that it loses me completely without my having to even see it. Jurassic World: Dominion is one such film. I haven't seen it and don't plan to, but I understand that part of the premise … Continue reading Jurassic World: A Losing Premise
Scene Dissection: Rattlesnake Jake
Gore Verbinski’s Rango, starring Johnny Depp, is a very strange and uneven film. On the surface, it’s weird and creative, but at its core it follows a fairly strict and by-the-numbers formula, with mostly pretty flat characters living in the service of the jokes. It’s not a bad movie by any stretch, and it’s become … Continue reading Scene Dissection: Rattlesnake Jake
Friday Flotsam: Cars, Alignments, and Age
1. I am thinking I am going to have to find creative ways to avoid driving places for the near future. $70 for a full tank is rather much. Looks like I may be self-identifying as Albanian for a while (there’s a very beautiful, but also very ethnically definite Albanian church within walking distance of … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Cars, Alignments, and Age
Surprisingness
C.S. Lewis, in a passage I can’t now find, comments that there ‘surprisingness’ is a different thing from ‘being a surprise’. The latter is simply a question of reaction; it’s subjective and, by its nature, can only come once. But ‘surprisingness’ is a quality in the thing itself, the quality of being so structured as … Continue reading Surprisingness
Thoughts on ‘Sing 2’
I liked Sing a lot more than I expected, and in fact found that it only got better upon reflection. So, naturally, I decided to check out the sequel to see if they managed to keep to the same level of quality. Honestly, this one's even better. Some time after the events of the first … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Sing 2’
Friday Flotsam: Another Odd Fact, Villains, and Agatha Christie Quotes
1. An odd rollercoaster of a week; I had some days of great consolation and happy productivity, and others of intense depression and extreme lethargy, where I simply could not seem to get anything done. At the moment I’m mostly okay, but yeesh, I really feel the need of a change. 2. Got into an … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Another Odd Fact, Villains, and Agatha Christie Quotes
A Quick Primer on the British Aristocracy
So, you're reading a classic regency novel and wondering why the slimy cousin is due to inherit the estate. Or you're writing an imitation regency-romance and are wondering how the plucky, impoverished heroine ought to address the darkly handsome, yet trouble count (hint: if he's a an English peer, he isn't a count). Or you're … Continue reading A Quick Primer on the British Aristocracy
Low-Effort Blogging: A Breakdown of ’12 Angry Men’
12 Angry Men is one of the great American dramatic films and an absolute master-class in writing: an enthralling story set almost entirely in one room and consisting of nothing but, well, twelve very different men debating back and forth. It's what happens when you have a first-class director (Sydney Lumet) leading a first-class cast … Continue reading Low-Effort Blogging: A Breakdown of ’12 Angry Men’
Motivation and Warm-Ups
Honestly, I didn’t want to write this post. I was tired and distracted and generally couldn’t think of anything I wanted to say. Then I happened to see my team lead at work promising “great motivation!” at a company rally later this week. (side note: my company is one of those that prides itself on … Continue reading Motivation and Warm-Ups
Serpent's Den 